"Leave it to me, but I'll need some props."
"Sure, buy whatever you think is necessary. I'll reimburse you afterward."
After settling the general details with Ichiji Hoshika, Sakurakoji Talent put on a half-mask he had casually bought from a roadside shop earlier, covering the upper half of his face as he quietly waited for customers.
"What's that?" Ichiji Hoshika asked in confusion when she saw him like that.
"A mask I bought on the way here. Looks good, right?"
"Not really. Why are you wearing a mask?"
"I'm afraid people will be too busy looking at my face and overlook the meaning behind the music."
"..."
If anyone else had said that, Ichiji Hoshika would have already snapped at them. But considering his looks, she had to admit that his concern was perfectly reasonable.
Tch, what an irritating guy. She turned her head away, an inexplicable surge of annoyance rising within her.
Sakurakoji Talent smiled. Naturally, he had been joking. He had other concerns, but there was no need to explain them for now.
Although Starry's venue was not large and its drinks were hard to describe, its lighting and sound equipment were quite decent, and the atmosphere was well crafted. As a result, business here had always been fairly good.
It was only a little past five when some audience members began arriving to buy tickets and wait.
The shop could probably hold two or three hundred people. If it was fully packed, a night's revenue would be considerable. If a somewhat well-known band wanted to rent the venue for an evening, they would have to pay at least two or three hundred thousand yen in venue fees. Looking at it that way, Ichiji Hoshika was actually a little rich lady?
Still, it was hard to say exactly how much she earned. The costs of purchasing and maintaining the venue, sound system, and lighting equipment were enormous, and there were also PA and lighting technician wages to pay. If something unusual happened, the business might even go bankrupt and close down.
After a while, Yamada Ryo and Ichiji Nijika pushed open the door and arrived.
"Ah, Mr. Talent, you're here!"
"Huh? What's with that outfit?"
Although Sakurakoji Talent was wearing a mask, the two of them recognized him at a glance. His smooth, straight white hair was simply too eye-catching. Seeing the mask on his face, they were both puzzled as well.
He gave them the same explanation, earning Yamada Ryo's disdain and Ichiji Nijika's agreement.
After greeting him, the two of them went straight to the recording studio in the back for that day's practice.
The rest of the process went smoothly: selling tickets, handing out drinks, selling tickets, handing out drinks... Occasionally, he helped tidy up and clean. There was nothing difficult about it.
After the evening performance ended, he helped clean up and move the instruments and equipment. Then the day's work was over.
For the next few days, he continued repeating this routine.
He wandered the streets during the day in search of destined encounters, then worked at Starry during the evenings and nights, deepening his relationships with the others. Before he knew it, time had reached early February.
"Whew, the weather's gradually getting warmer. Should I wear less tomorrow?"
Stopping outside a convenience store, Sakurakoji Talent let out a sigh.
The sun was blazing today, and after walking around for a long time, it really was a little hot.
Not to mention Starry. It had heating, and every night there were at least a hundred people creating a noisy, heated atmosphere. Just looking at it was enough to make one's blood boil.
He entered the store, where soothing music eased the slightly restless hearts of those who came inside.
After casually picking out a bottle of latte coffee from the shelves, he walked to the counter and took out the genuine leather wallet he carried with him. His long, fair fingers brushed past several bank cards and bills before he handed over a coin. When he saw the appearance of the person receiving it, his movement paused.
"One latte coffee comes to 350 yen. Out of 500 yen, here's 150 yen in change. Please take it."
The young cashier politely handed him his change, her gaze evasive and her cheeks slightly flushed.
He accepted the change and put it into his wallet. Sakurakoji Talent unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and quietly studied the young cashier before him, letting out a soft breath.
Then, without saying anything, he silently left.
"Please come again."
The chestnut-brown-haired girl with a ponytail felt her face heating up. She could not help wondering whether she had not fully woken up and was hallucinating. That customer had been so beautiful he seemed unreal. Standing before him had even made her feel somewhat inferior, yet she still enthusiastically gave the farewell line she had said countless times.
Hard work really did pay off.
Walking along the bluestone-paved street, Sakurakoji Talent tossed the empty bottle into a trash can, slipped both hands into his pockets, and sighed inwardly.
Even searching for a needle in the ocean came with a chance of finding one.
This was the border area between Sumida Ward and Taito Ward. It seemed he would have to come here often in the future.
The start of a good relationship did not require overly strong utilitarian motives. Taking things slowly and proceeding steadily was the best strategy. He remembered his current location and left with quick little steps.
Softly humming a song by a girls' band that had recently risen to fame, he headed toward the station, preparing to go to Shimokitazawa.
"Come into the world, hibiki wataru no wa zetsumyou na sonzai igi no concerto."
Today's wandering mission was complete. He had gained a little, and he was in an excellent mood!
Image: "You know what I mean, right?", location: "Images/1755650943-100446961-113651554.jpg"
New author, new book—please recommend and bookmark it~
The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: The Conditions of a Healing Constitution
"Young Master, these are the names and introductions of every high school in Tokyo Metropolis."
That day, Yashiro Ichiyo placed a thick stack of documents before Sakurakoji Talent and explained respectfully.
"This includes vocational schools and regular schools. The information for every school registered with the Ministry of Education is here."
"Among them, we particularly recommend twelve schools focused on university advancement, five focused on arts education, and three vocational academies that have achieved exceptional results in their respective fields."
"Thank you, Ichiyo." Sakurakoji Talent looked at the documents. After briefly flipping through them, he took out the table of contents.
His nimble fingertips turned the white pages, and his expression grew unusually serious as he focused on reading every name aloud. Most of them were names he had never heard before, but he was patient, reading through them one by one. When he had finished the names of several hundred schools, he smiled—a very happy smile.
Sure enough, fate was still on his side. After searching, he had truly found several familiar names.
Totsuki Culinary Academy, Moon Forest Girls' Academy, Toyonosaki Academy, Shuuka High School, Seishun Academy...
He did not even need to read the information on those schools to know their circumstances. He did not need to read about the other schools either, since they were not within his consideration at all.
"So, which one should I choose?" Sakurakoji Talent rested his chin on his hand and pondered the question.
Having so many options made him happy. At the very least, it meant the possibility of curing his body had increased greatly. But going to school was not something he could decide casually. He had to find a school with excellent value for money.
After thinking for a long time, he made up his mind.
"This one." He pulled out that school's information, pointed at the name on the cover, and looked at Ichiyo.
Ichiyo's expression remained calm. No matter which school Young Master chose, it would be a good thing for them. Madam and Master would also follow Young Master's wishes. As long as he was willing to leave the house and could grow up healthy, they would all be satisfied.
But when she saw the name Sakurakoji Talent was pointing at, her jaw still dropped.
"Young Master, do you really want to choose this one?!"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"Well... what do you think?"
"Then I'll have Uncle Iyo help out. Uncle's influence is meant to be used at a time like this."
"I think he'll be very surprised too, but... he probably won't object."
"Haha."
Imagining the shocked expression that would appear on Okura Iyo's usually aloof and indifferent handsome face, he could not help laughing.
"By the way, Ichiyo, sorry for the trouble, but please prepare some desserts for me later. I want to give them as gifts to the people who have been taking care of me these past few days."
"Yes! I'll cook them myself! I guarantee I won't bring shame upon the Sakurakoji Family!"
"Mm, I trust you."
He stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and gazed at the empty courtyard outside.
The yellowing grass had begun to show hints of green, while new buds were gradually appearing on the Sakura trees whose leaves had once withered away. February would be followed by March, and April after March was the start of the school term. It was not far away now.
If someone had told him in his previous life that he would one day look forward to going to school, he would have thought they were insane and gone up to give them a few knocks on the head.
What idiot would think going to school was something worth being happy about? Especially high school. Even after entering society, he had never wanted to return to high school and do it all over again. The double pressure of school and family was more than enough to experience once.
Of course, that was also because he had done fairly well on his entrance exams back then.
That afternoon, instead of heading out to scour Tokyo again, he shut himself in his room, scrolling through X and UTube and browsing online news.
He could not place all his hopes in one or two baskets. He could not ignore other sources of information either; the more clues, the better. In fact, the internet was his most important source of information. This was not something he could hand over to someone else. Only he could personally judge it.
In his spare time, and even when Starry was not busy, he would pull out his phone and enter full internet-addict mode. Nijika and the others had even teased him, saying they had never expected him to be an internet-addicted teenager and that they had misjudged him.
After these days of intensive internet use, he had indeed made some additional gains.
"Fallen Genius: The Child Star Who Once Captivated the Public Is Now Content with an Ordinary Life."
"Yukinoshita Real Estate in Chiba City Plans Secondary Development of Old Residences in Hanamigawa Ward."
"The Rise of Underground Idols: The Road to Fame of Emerging Idol Group B-Komachi."
"Shocking: Band 'Diamond Dust' Suspected of Internal Discord, on the Verge of Breaking Apart."
"An Appreciation of Gold Prize Winners from Past Wind Instrument Music Competitions."
"..."
He had to admit that he had gained quite a lot during this period. If he integrated all the information he had collected, he believed he could definitely resolve the chronic illness plaguing his body.
Unfortunately, he was alone and simply could not be everywhere at once. In particular, many of those people were not in Tokyo, making it difficult to contact all of them in a short time. Not to mention that simple contact alone could not solve his problem.
Through his interactions with everyone at Starry during this period, he had roughly understood what was required to achieve an accomplishment.
That was: increasing his connections and emotional bonds with Omni-Anime characters.
The first time he treated Yamada Ryo to a meal, he gained her gratitude, and that was why his body had changed for the first time.
The effect had not occurred during his first meeting and conversation with Yamada Ryo, but after they had finished eating. That alone explained something.
Later, as he interacted with Ichiji Nijika and the others, the effect had not been a one-time occurrence either. Instead, as the amount of time he spent working there increased, he received intermittent feedback.
So far, the severe pain in his body had been reduced by more than one-thousandth in total!
In other words, merely finding people was not enough. He had to build bonds with them, cultivate feelings, and gain a deeper understanding of them before he could receive the greatest effect.
"Pah! What kind of garbage setting is this? Isn't this forcing me to become a scumbag?"
"If I really get stabbed someday, are you going to take responsibility?"
Sakurakoji Talent heavily threw his phone onto the soft bed, his face filled with righteous indignation as he pointed at the empty air and cursed loudly.
He had always followed the principle of "passing through a field of flowers without a single petal touching him." He had never intended to form particularly close relationships with other girls. He knew his own charm well enough.
Or rather, he had long since seen through the harsh realities of this world: this damn world was made up entirely of looks-obsessed people!
As long as you were good-looking, no matter how terrible your personality was or how outrageous your actions were, a huge crowd would still make excuses for you. With his looks, even if he just stood there doing nothing, there would inevitably be a group of deranged appearance-obsessed fans swooning over him. It might even develop into absurd relationships like obsessive stalker fans...
Let alone if he actively approached others and formed friendly, affectionate relationships with them. Wasn't that practically asking for his life?
And at this incredibly slow rate of progress, just how many people would he have to form "friendly" relationships with before he could completely escape this shitty fate?
He could practically imagine it: many years later, he would be surrounded by a crowd of girls, each wearing a dark expression and holding things like kitchen knives, electric batons, whips, and bug spray, asking him what exactly his attitude was. Just thinking about it made his back grow damp.
Sakurakoji Talent opened his tightly shut eyes, pulling himself out of the nightmare, and exhaled the stale breath he had held in for so long. Although he found such conditions absurd and infuriating, he had no better option for now—unless he was willing to live with this even more damnable constitution for the rest of his life.
"Since things have come to this, I should go to work first."
Glancing at the clock in the room, Sakurakoji Talent helplessly set aside this thorny issue. There was no use thinking too much about it. He could not change anything anyway.
The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: A Real Encounter with Love Around the Corner
Carrying a large bag of carefully wrapped snacks, Sakurakoji Talent hurried out of Sakura Mansion, his pace unconsciously quickening—he was running a little late.
Although Starry was fairly lenient about timing and arriving later would not be a problem, as a modern good young man with a slight moral obsession, he still wanted to avoid being late whenever possible.
After getting off the train and squeezing through the crowd, he skillfully passed through the familiar streets he had walked many times before, hurrying toward another boarding point to transfer.
Before you continue